Boating regulations in many states have certain minimal requirements that fishing boats and the like have running lights that can be seen for up to a distance of a mile or more. In a conventional open fishing boat, where the operator sits in the rearward portion of the boat to attend an outboard motor or the like, the running light for such a boat is typically mounted in the immediate area where the operator is sitting.
One of the great shortcomings of existing boat running lights is that in order for them to be bright enough to be seen at long distances, the brightness of the lights substantially diminishes the night sight of the operator. This means that the operator cannot easily see the bow of the boat and the area of the forward portion of the boat immediately surrounding the bow. This creates a dangerous situation and invites accidents such as when the operator would drive the boat into an obstacle in the water simply because the vision of the obstacle immediately in front of the boat could not be seen because of the glare of the running lights.
It is therefore a principal object of this invention to provide a running light of an open boat which can be easily seen at a long distance, but which will not diminish the night sight of the boat's operator.
A further object of this invention is to provide a boat light which is inexpensive in manufacture and operation, and which can be easily replaced as required.
These and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art.